Rajala Forestry

08/07/2026

08/07/2026

Winner, winner, chicken (of the woods) dinner.

08/07/2026

We're biased of course but this may be the most enjoyable little White Pine tending instructional video ever.

07/31/2026

06/05/2026

Aspen Sauna wood is on the agenda today at Rajala Forestry and MTM. Check out our blog post on the MTM website, featuring video of one of the upcoming Aspen Restoration to Natural projects that will yield excellent Aspen sauna woods.

https://mntimber.com/blog/f/aspen-sauna-from-mtmrajala-forestry-restoration-work

05/31/2026

May 30 2026. Rajala Forestry WLC Airstrip area.

Dense Red Pine plantation established in 1976 by Rajala Forestry in the previous owner (Hartley) airstrip, now being restored to Natural Forest. Thinned lightly in 2017 to establish diverse natural advance regeneration then again to low density in 2022 to "release" the regeneration. Followed by severe wind storms in 2022/2023. The surviving Red Pine overstory is of exceptional quality and is being pruned for the third time (the final "lift") to 27' height with 4 section specialized aluminum pruning poles. Note the abundance of Natural (not planted) White Pine and Red Pine regeneration, from which we lifted sparingly for enrichment transplant to the adjacent stand further described below.

Adjacent to the Red Pine Plantation Restoration to Natural stand is a slighly smaller Aspen Restoration to Natural stand. Here we've lightly thinned the 36 yr old dense Aspen stand, leaving much of the Aspen to grow and be thinned twice again in a long succession process. Each of the thinnings will provide some of the raw material for MTM's signature Aspen sauna items. This Natural Restoration is aimed toward the same Natural Forest result as the adjacent Red Pine plantation, but along totally different lines of succession. See the 2 White Pine and 1 Red Pine transplants (of the 300 +/- total) we've placed in the small openings of the Aspen stand following the first thinning.

Finally, we've developed a fast and efficient (although hard labor) method of removing dead Aspen limbs to 24' using lightweight fiberglass 2-stage telescoping poles. Aspen (and Red Oak) dead lower limbs are typically small and ready to fall off cleanly with a "bang" from the pole. This is much faster than trying to saw dead limbs with a pruning saw.

For world class Aspen and Red Pine (plus over 20 additonal native natural MN species) products from Rajala Forestry's Restoration Forestry projects, check out Minnesota Timber & Millwork at www.mntimber.com.

Enjoy!

05/30/2026

Check out the photo captions from Rajala Forestry & Minnesota Timber & Millwork. Illustrating our work from Seedling to Siding.

www.mntimber.com

05/26/2026

Minnesota Timber & Millwork offers both Select and Natural Grade Aspen Sauna wood. Select (minimal character, elegant) Aspen is a low % of the tree, so we're working to improve our Aspen quality through limb removal. Check out the full version of this process with extreme height Red Pine pruning on the Rajala Forestry YouTube channel.

05/24/2026

May 24 2026. Rajala Forestry. A White Pine sapling badly infected with Blister Rust. This is as bad as it gets. We eliminated the still living but infected sapling to provide more resources to its neighbors, not to prevent spread from one tree to the next. Blister Rust does not spread from tree to tree. It must pass through an alternate host from the Ribes genus, which includes all currants and gooseberries.

The White Pines on both sides of the tree we removed are unaffected. We see this everywhere. Based on the massive sampling we're blessed with, we have a high % of trees that possess high resistance to Blister Rust. It's an excellent indication that decades of preserving our best and healthiest trees for seed is paying off.

Note that environmental conditions are a big factor as well. High humidity and lack of air flow increase the chance of infection as well. We prune the lowest branches of quality seedlings/saplings when they're down in grass if it's present. And we always carry pruning shears, because you can prevent spread from a branch to the main stem if you prune it in time.

Let us know if you have specific questions regarding your own cherished White Pine. We're happy to share what we know.

05/23/2026

The silvics of Bur Oak can be challenging, but we've learned it and do it well. We're naturally regenerating Bur Oak to prepare lowland hardwood areas for a future with less Black Ash (due to Emerald Ash Borer). It's important to have the advance regeneration established before EAB gets here.